What a Family Reunion Actually Costs Per Person (Three Real Weekends)

The "per person" number is doing a lot of work in that question

When relatives ask how much a family reunion costs, what they really mean is "what's my check going to look like at the end of this?" The honest answer is: it depends on who's hosting, where, and for how long. A backyard potluck in suburban Indianapolis with 40 relatives splitting paper-plate duties can land around $25 a head. A five-night beach rental in the Outer Banks with 22 cousins can clear $1,400 each once lodging, seafood boils, and ferry rides are tallied. Both are legitimate family reunions, and the difference is mostly structure, not love.

So instead of one tidy number, here are three real weekends my own family and a few readers have run, with receipts as close to honest as I can get.

Weekend #1: The backyard Sunday in central Ohio

June, 32 people, my aunt's three-acre lot. No rental fees, no travel reimbursements, just a long table down the gravel driveway.

• Brisket and pulled pork from a local BBQ joint: $310 for 30 lbs
• Side dishes (six of us each brought two): ingredients tallied around $90 total
• Drinks — sodas, lemonade, two cases of beer, water: $140
• Paper plates, cups, napkins, plastic forks, tablecloths: $55
• One porta-potty rental for the day: $185
• Photo booth backdrop out